Consultant spending in the public sector has fallen to its lowest number in seven years

New figures show 420 million dollars was spent on consultants and contractors by 38 core Government agencies in the nine months to March.

That accounted for 4 and a half percent of the total wage bill.

Independent economist Cameron Bagrie says despite that, overall Government personnel spending was up 3.1 percent for the same period.

He says if you look at the top line figures, they are still growing.